September 14, 2017  The Womens Fund of Western Massachusetts, a Springfield nonprofit that supports economic and social equality for women and girls in western Massachusetts, recently announced that Donna Haghighat has been appointed chief executive officer.

She succeeds Elizabeth Barajas-Román, who stepped down from the job after two and a half years at the Womens Fund of Western Massachusetts (WFWM) to lead Solidago Foundation, a national foundation with local headquarters in Northampton.

"I am thrilled to join the Womens Fund as our transformative leadership programs expand to include young women, said Donna Haghighat.

Haghighat has more than 12 years of experience developing programs, cultivating relationships, fundraising, directing communications strategy, creating strategic plans, and building advocacy programs.

Most recently, she was a principal at the Collabyrinth Collective, LLC. Previously, she served as executive director of the Aurora Women & Girls Foundation, chief engagement and advocacy officer for YWCA Hartford Region, a strategic consultant, chief development officer for Hartford Public Library, interim director and grants/program manager of the Womens Education and Leadership Fund, and co-president of American Association of University Women in Connecticut.

Haghighat earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and women's studies from Trinity College-Hartford and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Haghighat recently accepted the LEAD Award for the WFWM Young Womens Initiative Springfield Partnership, a multi-sector partnership aimed at driving economic prosperity for young women.

She said, "It is a tremendous honor to accept this award, honoring a program that brings so many stakeholders together to foster greater opportunity for the young women of Springfield, particularly young women of color.

Established in 1997, the Women's Fund fuels seeks to advance gender equity by funding promising solutions, collaborating with results-oriented partners, and elevating the collective power of local women to take charge and lead with purpose. Its signature, non-partisan program, the Leadership Institute for Political and Public Impact, is designed to provide women with the tools, mentors, and confidence they need to become powerful and effective civic leaders and elected officials.